First Comes Love: A Novel

In a dazzling, delightful new novel that's quintessential Emily Giffin, the number one New York Times best-selling author of Something Borrowed, Where We Belong, and The One & Only introduces a pair of 30-something sisters who find themselves asking: If love, marriage, and children don't arrive in the usual order, which comes first?

I Don't Know How She Does It: The Life of Kate Reddy, Working Mother

For every woman trying to strike that impossible balance between work and home - and pretending that she has - and for every woman who has wanted to hurl the acquaintance who coos admiringly, "Honestly, I just don't know how you do it," out a window, here's a novel to make you cringe with recognition and laugh out loud. With fierce, unsentimental irony, Pearson's novel brilliantly dramatizes the dilemma of working motherhood at the start of the 21st century. Meet Kate Reddy, hedge-fund manager and mother of two.

Finding Audrey

An anxiety disorder disrupts 14-year-old Audrey's daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother's gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she's never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.

G. House Sr. says:"I chuckled for six hours straight"

Publisher's Summary

The new novel from the best-selling author of I Don’t Know How She Does It takes us on an unforgettable journey into first love, and—with the emotional intensity and penetrating wit that have made her beloved among readers all over the world—reminds us of how the ardor of our youth can ignite our adult lives.

Wales, 1974. Petra and Sharon, two 13-year-old girls, are obsessed with David Cassidy. His fan magazine is their Bible, and some days his letters are the only things that keep them going as they struggle through the humiliating daily rituals of adolescence—confronting their bewildering new bodies, fighting with mothers who don’t understand them at all. Together they tackle the Ultimate David Cassidy Quiz, a contest whose winners will be flown to America to meet Cassidy in person.

London, 1998. Petra is pushing forty, on the brink of divorce, and fighting with her own thirteen-year-old daughter when she discovers a dusty letter in her mother’s closet declaring her the winner of the contest she and Sharon had labored over with such hope and determination. More than twenty years later, twenty pounds heavier, bruised by grief and the disappointments of middle age, Petra reunites with Sharon for an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas to meet their teen idol at last, and finds her life utterly transformed.

Funny, moving, full of beautiful observations about the awakenings of both youth and middle age, Allison Pearson’s long-awaited new novel will speak across generations to mothers and daughters and women of all ages.

i was 'way too cool for david cassidy and i hate chick lit with a passion. the NPR review made me take a look at this and i am so glad i downloaded it. the book is rich and wise and beautifully written and by far the "adult" half of the novel is the richest. the narrator is absolutely terrific. and surprise, when i listened to the afterword interview by the author with david cassidy,i came away with enormous respect for him. NOT fluffy chick or teen lit!!!

The story was silly. Also, could have been cut in half (if not more). Spent pages and pages and agonizing pages talking about two young girls obsession with David Cassidy and much less time on who these women were as adults (which was much more interesting!). Did a similar thing when telling us about Bill's life - pages and pages and pages of information that did not add to the book. It took me weeks to get through the book because I kept falling asleep!

I Think I Love You was fun to listen to, a chance to go back to my teen past and experience David Cassidy all over again. I really enjoyed the 2nd half more, when Petra was grown and had the opportunity to indulge her teen-age fantasy by meeting the idol. The Welsh accent was hard to understand initially, but overall the listen was very satisfying. It was chick-lit type of stuff, so no 5 stars, only 4. The interview at the end was a great addition. I'd recommend this as a "beach read" or just light escapist audio.

Pearson does a terrific job capturing the essence of unrequited longing I remember feeling as a young teenage girl. The problem is that she spends so much time on the drivel of that longing that not much happens in the first half of the book and it is, well, dull and repetitive. The book improves in the second half as the pacing picks up. It is a fun premise and walk down memory lane for any woman in her 40s or 50s. I particularly enjoyed Pearson's interview with Cassidy at the end of the book. For a more evenly paced, light-hearted read, try Pearson's I Don't Know How She Does It.

I would listen to I Think I Love You again, and as a matter of fact I have! It is a terrific book that made me remember the tween scene of my youth having grown up watchingThe Partridge Family.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character would have to be Sharon because she represented the joy of just being young and carefree.

What does Sian Thomas bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I usually read a book first before I listen to the audio version because I like to have my own interpretation of a character's voice but Sian Thomas went over and beyond my imagining. Her enthusiasm and joy for the book came through so much to the point that even I was excited to be heading to London to see David Cassidy (LOL)

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would absolutely listen to this book in one sitting. I started early with some gardening, through prepping for dinner and finished in time to read my gals their bedtime story. During the course of the day I am sure my family asked me several important questions and volunteered me for several school related activaties and I am clueless as to what they were...oh well it was worth it....wait a minute, I have to make how many brownies for the bake sale?!